How to Practice Bug Out Drills Without Scaring Your Children

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As preppers, we all know that there may come a day when we find ourselves in a situation when we have to quickly grab our bug out bags, load our kids and pets into our car and head for the high country.

You know that this may happen, you prepare by putting bug out bags together, but have you ever wondered how long it would actually take you to go through these steps in a real emergency?

Think about the last time you tried to get everyone ready to go on a family outing. If you’re like most families, the task of making sure that you have everything you need and getting everyone loaded into the car can be monumental.

My husband and I live in an area that is susceptible to forest fires so we know that there is a very real possibility that we may have to grab our bug out bags and split someday. We’re empty nesters now so it’s just me, my husband, and our dog. We know that we can be in the truck and gone in a matter of a few minutes. We know this because we’ve done bug out drills. We can just say, “Go!”, grab our stuff, jump in the truck and be gone. Just like that!

Bugging out with young children or even teenagers, won’t likely go so smoothly. This is why I personally feel that it’s important to practice bug out drills on a regular basis.

I’m a firm believer that we need to be capable of bugging out quickly but I also don’t think we should be raising paranoid children. Children shouldn’t have to live in fear and they might not understand the importance of a bug out drill. Being able to quickly evacuate in our case could be a matter of life and death so it’s serious business.

So, with that in mind, how can you practice bug out drills without scaring your children? In my opinion, the answer is simple. You make a game out of it! Let me give you an example. Imagine that one day you round up your kids and say, if everyone can grab their bug out bags and get in the car in 5 minutes, we’ll go to the waterslide park! Of course this would take a little planning on your part. You would need to have things like their swim suits and sunblock already packed and loaded in your car without them knowing.

I mentioned before that I don’t believe in raising paranoid children but I do believe in having conversations with them about why we prepare bug out bags. For people who live in an area like we do, it’s simple. We can just explain that we need to be ready to evacuate quickly in case there is ever a forest fire. Your situation will likely be different than ours.

The point I’m trying to make with this article is that if you practice bug out drills on a regular basis with your family, and you make it fun for your children, they’ll be less likely to grow up with the fear that the “sky is falling” but your family will be capable of bugging out quickly if the sky does fall someday.

Share Your Ideas

I’d love to start a dialogue and hear some of the ways you practice bug out drills with your family. Please take a minute and leave a comment in the box below to share your thoughts and ideas with everyone!